Texas Border Business
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Brownsville Navigation District Chairman Sergio Tito Lopez named Secretary Esteban Guerra as chairman of a newly created committee focused on enhancing economic development opportunities at the Port of Brownsville. The committee will also include Commissioner John Reed as vice chair.
“As highlighted by U.S. Senator John Cornyn’s recent visit to our port, we are the economic engine of the Rio Grande Valley,” Chairman Lopez stated. “I have created this committee to identify those opportunities so that we as a commission may act on them.”
Senator Cornyn visited the Port of Brownsville on Sept. 16 to participate in an economic development roundtable discussion with Rio Grande Valley public officials and members of the business community. The event was organized by RGV Partnership.
Under the direction of Commissioner Guerra, the economic development committee is tasked with recruiting and retaining value added industrial growth and creating well-paying jobs through strategic initiatives that focus on improving the port’s competitiveness.
“I am excited and proud to work together with my fellow commissioners and BND staff to further position the Port of Brownsville as a leading catalyst in the economic transformation of the region across the RGV and northern Mexico”, Lopez said.
The Port of Brownsville is the only deep-water seaport directly on the U.S.-Mexico border, and the largest land-owning public port authority in the nation with 40,000 acres of land. It is responsible for the creation of more than 51,000 jobs across Texas and adds $3 billion to the state’s economy. Activity at the port is also responsible for more than 8,500 jobs in the Rio Grande Valley bringing more than $2 billion to the regional economy.
